Tuesday, May 21, 2019

Plot
The Reverse Flash has been freed thanks to his indirect manipulation of the timeline. Now, Barry Allen and his allies must face his greatest enemy once again.

InfluencesThe Flash comics of Geoff Johns

GoofsCecile's powers are now described as being emphatic rather than telepathic. (She could be both, but she's always been shown as more of a mind-reader before.)

How does Iron Heights acquire Cicada's dagger in 2049 when Cicada had never been captured or identified in the original timeline Nora came from?

Why isn't Orlin Dwyer restored to life after Cicada II is made to have never existed? Logically, if she never existed, she never could have killed him. (Come to that, killing Dwyer should have made that version of Grace Gibbons stop existing, since she said that he trained her and mentored her to become the new Cicada in her timeline.)

Why does the dagger not disappear until just before Thawne is to be executed? Logically, if the dagger was destroyed decades earlier, it never would have been there to keep Thawne imprisoned in the first place.

It isn't made precisely clear why the destruction of Cicada's dagger causes Nora to stop existing. It could be either because Nora never felt the need to come to the past to fight the one enemy her father never beat or because Thawne wasn't around to teach her how to use her powers.Performances
Again, Jessica Parker Kennedy steals the show with her speeches and the earnestness with which she handles Nora's death scene.Flash Facts
When Thawne escapes, he tells Barry he will see him at their next crisis. This is almost certainly a nod to the 2019 Crisis On Infinite Earths crossover event.
In the closing montage, Ralph is seen in his office looking at a file labeled Dearbon. In the classic DC Comics, Ralph married an heiress named Sue Dearbon, who became Sue Dibny and eventually a member of the Justice League. She was the only non-powered person with no codename to do this.Technobabble
Upon examining Ralph after he is shot with the mirror gun, Caitlin says that his cells have become kinetically inverted.

Caitlin says that the last time Ralph lost control of his body, they created a stabilizing enzyme that reset his body back to its original form using vulcanization and muscle memory.

Sherloque says a vibrational jolt should help Ralph to reassert himself.

Swiss Ash is one species of the flowering ash trees indigenous to Europe, but also makes up a sizable amount of the Kollins Woods - the closest forested area to Central City.

A speedster with a connection to the Negative Speed Force can use it to negate a paradox that would cause them not to exist. This is apparently how Thawne has managed to survive in some form despite being erased from existence twice.Dialogue TriumphsNora: (V/O) I always wanted to be a hero, to use my extraordinary
abilities to help people. That's why I came here. To meet my family, to stop Cicada, help fix the Flash's
legacy, and save him from disappearing in the future. I believed I could do the impossible, but I never imagined
it would turn out like this.

Barry: Sometimes in life, all we can do is just live with the consequences. So what you have to ask yourself is what kind of hero are you gonna be? One who takes a do-over after every mistake? Or one who lives with it and moves forward?

Killer Frost: What a bunch of sentimental crap. You two sound like a friggin' Hallmark movie. (This is doubly funny given Danielle Panabaker has been in a few Hallmark movies.)

(The Cicada Dagger disappears. Thawne regards the guards preparing him for execution.)Thawne: Gentlemen. I hate to inform you... but you're all dead.

(Thawne stares down all of Team Flash)

Thawne: Isn't this nice? Team Flash, back together again with a
new guy. (nods to Ralph) Ralph Dibny. Welcome. You should be dead.

Ralph: Yeah, I guess we have that in common.

Thawne: (chuckling) We'll take care of that in a moment.

Nora: Hi, Mom and Dad. If you're watching this, it means that something went wrong. But I don't want you guys to be sad. I'm not. I always wanted to be a hero, to use my extraordinary
abilities to help people. That's why I came here: to meet my family, stop Cicada, help
fix the Flash's legacy, and save him from disappearing in the future. I believed I could do the impossible, but I never imagined
it would turn out like this. I'm glad it did. I wouldn't change anything about my time with you, my sweet
parents, the most important people to me in the world. I wish I could be there to celebrate every new chapter, to
witness every success. Just know that no matter where I go in my life, you'll
always be my side. Because of you, I know I will never, ever,
truly be alone, and I will feel your love and support like a warm hug
comforting me, wishing me to be the best person I can be. Thank you for everything For making me a hero and for loving
me even if I wasn't perfect. Please remember that I love you both and I always will, no
matter what the future brings.

Continuity

Ralph throws himself in front of the mirror gun blast. This causes him to turn into something resembling a man-size geode.

All of the metahumans not cured in 521 are sent to a secure CCPD facility.

Barry and Nora discover a wood fragment at CCPD they think might lead them to Cicada.

Sherloque figures out what Ralph deduced - that Thawne was helping Nora to stop Cicada, because Cicada's dagger is being used in the future to negate Thawne's powers and keep him imprisoned.

Cisco reveals that he works at STAR Labs and is Vibe to Kamilla. She is cool with it and says she has no trouble with him trying to date her and be a hero.

Caitlin makes reference to 404and the first time Ralph lost control of his body.

Cisco makes reference to how he was playing Lady Gaga when Barry first woke from his coma in the Pilot.

Ralph is left unable to speak straight for a short time after being vibrated back to normal.

The wood fragment Nora and Barry found is revealed to be Swiss Ash and is traced to Kollins Woods, which is 12 miles from Central City.

Cecile is used as an early-warning system, being able to sense Cicada's hatred.

The team breach Cicada II into Cisco's force-field at STAR Labs, giving Nora the time she needs to help the child Grace Gibbons get out of her coma and convince her to take the metahuman cure.

The shard of metal inside Grace Gibbon's head is soaked with enough dark matter it negates the metahuman cure. This means Team Flash still needs to destroy Cicada's dagger with the mirror gun in order to defeat Cicada II.

With her metahuman powers as a child neutralized, Cicada II ceases to exist.

In Iron Heights 2049, the Cicada dagger blinks out of existence just as Thawne is about to be executed.

Barry can now use his powers to briefly reverse time.

Nora vanishes from existence because with Cicada's dagger destroyed, there was no reason for her to ever come to the past.

Thawne says that Nora can save herself by running into the Negative Speed Force, but she refuses to give herself over to it to save herself.

Sherloque returns to his Earth to be with Rene Adler.

Cisco removes his powers with the metahuman cure.

Grace Gibbons is set up with a nice foster family.

Captain Singh announces that he's been appointed the new Chief of the CCPD and is promoting Joe West to the rank of Captain.

Captain Singh reveals that he figured out that Barry was The Flash.

Cisco reveals that he made Caitlin and Killer Frost a new costume.

Nora's time diary and a video she made remain behind.

As the episode ends, time changes and the newspaper from the future which said Barry disappears in 2024 changes, with the date rolling back 5 years to show that Barry now disappears in 2019.Location
Iron Heights - 2049The Bottom Line
Nonsensical, painful and poorly explained on every level. Granting that the rules for time-travel have never been consistent and are driven by what is the most dramatic rather than any decent standard set of physical laws, the script for this episode needed a few rewrites.

It isn't clear, for instance, if Carlos Valdes is leaving the series or not now that he's removed his own Vibe powers. There were rumors he was leaving the show, but nothing that was confirmed with the same sense of certainty as Emily Bett Rickards leaving Arrow. We don't have a scene of him resigning his job from STAR Labs and there is no reason in the episode why he would need to do so.

Still, Nora gets a great ending to her story but the selling of it is due more toward Jessica Parker Kennedy's charisma than any craft in the writing or special effects. Both Cicadas are finally dead and gone. And it looks like we'll be getting Ralph and Sue together in Season 6, just in time for the end of the world.

Sunday, May 19, 2019

Plot
Lex Luthor descends on Washington D.C. as the hero of the hour and the most beloved man in America. With all of her allies but Alex occupied, Kara has only one chance to stop Lex Luthor's plans. Will the Power of the Press prove capable of doing what Supergirl can't?InfluencesSuperman 4: The Quest For Peace (title), Iron Man (the sequences of Lex fighting the Kaznian military in his Lexo-suit while singing "My Way"), the President Lex storyline from the Superman comics (Lex sets himself up as the defacto leader of the USA, if not the actual President), the Martian Manhunter comics of John Ostrander (character of Ma'alefa'ak) and the Batman comics of Grant Morrison (Leviathan organization).Goofs
It beggars belief that Dreamer and J'onn are put to work in a slave labor camp and just happen to wind up next to friends of J'onn who are looking for someone to lead a rebellion against the guards after less than a minute.

The guards also don't seem to care about stopping the alien workers from talking to each other, which would be unusual even if J'onn and Al weren't being incredibly unsubtle about talking about rebelling. They don't even whisper!

The slow-motion fight scenes in the fifth sequence just don't work. Especially James vs. Ben Lockwood.

It is said that President Baker is removed from office by the Cabinet's invoking the 25th Amendment. Even if The Cabinet does declare The President unfit for duty, a 2/3rds majority vote in both houses of Congress is still required to remove him from office.Performances
Once again, Jon Cryer steals the show as Lex Luthor.

Melissa Benoist gets a wonderful death scene as Red Daughter, playing opposite herself.Artistry
The special effects budget for this season was clearly saved for this episode and the CGI is largely theatrical quality.Super Trivia
The opening logo once again shows the symbol of the Red Daughter and her name in Russian, along with Supergirl's name and the Supergirl logo.

The new President who takes over after Phil Baker is named Plastino. Al Plastino was the name of the artist who co-created Kara Zor-El along with writer Otto Binder.

It is revealed that Eve Teschmacher was recruited to manipulate Lex Luthor on behalf of a group called Leviathan. First appearing in Batman: The Return #1, Leviathan is a splinter-group of the League of Assassins formed by Talia Al Ghul, which developed into a criminal syndicate of unimaginable power.

The Monitor brings a Green Martian to Earth and encourages him to seek revenge against the brother who wronged him, who is revealed to be J'onn J'onzz. This would seem to be a reference to Ma'alefa'ak - the brother of J'onn J'onzz, who was introduced into the Martian Manhunter comics by John Ostrander and Tom Mandrake.Technobabble
An astral projector can appear in any environment, but they cannot interact with people in that environment. However, an astral projection can interact with and ionize other forms of energy, such as by writing in water molecules that accumulate as condensation on a window.

Brainiac-5 says that it will take 20 pods to overload the power core of the Claymore satellite in the time they had left. He further says that J'onn has only an 18% chance of successfully using his own psychic energy to overload the core and a 98% chance of dying in the attempt.

Dialogue Triumphs(An alien man begs for mercy as he is locked into Luthor's machine, repeatedly muttering "Please don't.")Lex: (cheerfully) Don't worry. It won't hurt.(A metal plate slides over the man, who begins screaming.)Lex: (nonchalant) Hmm. Guess I was wrong.(Eve Teschmacher looks at the screen for the device as Lex examines the gauntlet he is wearing.)Eve: Alien energy transfer complete. Your gauntlet should be charged.Lex: Only one way to find out. (looks around the room and points to a guard on a balcony overlooking the room) Um... excuse me? Uh... stand very still!(Lex aims the gauntlet at the guard and shots him with a ray. The man screams briefly as his body breaks down into a mass of liquid. Lex looks suitably impressed, but not surprised.)Lex: Hmm... get a mop.

Red Daughter: Supergirl is dead. What happened?Lex: (shrugging) The Kaznians invaded.Red Daughter: Your signal was late! I was supposed to lead the attack!Lex: No, Ryzhaya Dch. You did exactly what you were meant to do.(A missile approaches in the air. Lex nonchalantly reaches up with one hand and shoots a laser blast that destroys it.)Red Daughter: You betrayed me! Betrayed Kaznia!Lex: What can I say? I'm proud to be an American.(Lex reaches up and fires his gauntlet as the scene fades to black)Eliza: Lex and The Preisdent have succeeded in convincing the people that all aliens are dangerous! That Supergirl is the enemy-Alex: And Lex is the hero.Kara: Then I guess it's my job to show them who Lex really is. Show them the truth.

(Lena is sarcastically rude to Lex.)Lillian: Now, now! You play nicely. This is the first family gathering we've had in ages and I'd like to enjoy myself.Lena: Your murderous son has duped the world into thinking he's Earth's hero. This is hardly Thanksgiving dinner.Lillian: Sounds perfectly normal for our family.

(Lex describes his plans to turn aliens into giant disposable batteries and growing rich selling the power to the world.)Lena: That's vile!Lex: Vile AND viable. As another world leader once said, "I don't see why man shouldn't be as cruel as nature."Lillian: Try not to quote Hitler in public, dear. It'll hurt the brand.

(As Lex leaves the room.)Lena: You're not buying this, Mother?!Lillian: Of course not! I've already poisoned his tea. If he'd stop running his mouth long enough to take a sip, he'd be dead by now.

(Dreamer is confused why nobody can see her astral form.)Dreamer: Guys?Brainac-5: If my calculations are correct, Dreamer has just astral projected into this office.Dreamer: You anticipated me being here?!Brainiac-5: She is here. She's wondering in this exact moment how she can contact us. Because an astral projectee can place themselves in any environment, but they cannot interact with that environment.Alex and Nia: (together) So how is that a good plan?!?Nia: (to Alex) Thank you!

Lex: The truth is meaningless. The people of Earth believe I am their savior. They needed a human hero and I fulfill that need. Nothing will ever change their minds.(As Lex continues speaking, we cut to the streets of National City, where two young men are walking. One of them stops the other as he gestures to a news report on his phone. It is Kara's article.)Lex: Facts are irrelevant. All that matters is spin.(We cut to outside the White House, where a mob of people are waving signs cheering Lex Luthor. One of them looks at their phone and is shocked as she sees Kara's report.)Lex: People are so stupid. They don't even read. And even when they do, they certainly don't think. I am the leader of this nation now. And nothing can stop me.

J'onn: During the battle for my home planet, I ran. Millions died. I will not make that same mistake again!

Lex: How are you alive?! How did you do it?Supergirl: How do you think I did it? I'm Supergirl.Lex: Just like your cousin! No matter how many times I stamp you out, you miraculously resurface! With your glossy cape and your prefect hair!Supergirl: Let me let you in on a little secret, Lex. Truth and Justice always prevail.Lex: (chuckling) You and your cousin are such saps. Luckily, I came prepared.
(Lex taps a button on his gauntlet. His hands begin to glow with green Kryptonite energy. Supergirl looks uncomfortable for a moment but then steels herself.)Supergirl: So did I.(Supergirl presses in on the S-shield on her chest and the armored suit Lena made for her slides into place. Lex looks stunned.)Supergirl: You can thank your sister for this.

(Red Daughter is dying of Kryptonite poisoning, while being held by Supergirl.)Red Daughter: You were right. My Alex was nothing like your Alex. Protect your people... as I protected mine.

(Lex's suit starts falling apart as he plummets toward the ground. Suddenly, he is caught by one hand by Supergirl. He struggles to wiggle free of her grip.)Supergirl: Let me save you!Lex: (scoffs) Saved? By a Kryptonian? I'd rather die!(Lex's gauntlet releases from the rest of his armor and he falls to the ground, his armor seemingly erupting in a wave of green energy and a fiery explosion.)(Lena draws a gun on Lex)Lex: (impatiently) Come on, Lena. This is no time for theatrics.We both know, no matter how much you despise me, you're not ruthless enough to pull that trigger-(Lena pulls the trigger twice, unloading two bullets into Lex's chest.)Lena: The world will never be safe with you in it.

Lex: I'm about to die, but at least I lived without ever being a fool. You're left with no one and nothing!

Eve Teschmacher: Who are you?Old Woman: You already know that, dear.Eve Teschmacher: I did everything you asked. I worked for him. I hurt people for him!Old Woman: Lex was supposed to move the needle. He failed.Eve Teschmacher: So let me go!Old Woman: Sorry, sweetie. That's not on the agenda.(Eve looks around and sees that everyone on the street, from the homeless man to the cops, are watching her.)Old Woman: Leviathan is everywhere. Leviathan is everyone. And Leviathan is coming.

(A breach opens and a figure in a black-hooded robe emerges. The Monitor steps forward to meet him.)Figure: Where am I?The Monitor: Earth.Figure: It can't be!The Monitor: You've been trapped for too long. A phantom to your people. Now it is time you avenge yourself against the brother who wronged you.Figure: Will you help me?The Monitor: It was I that brought you here. You must walk the path yourself. Besides... I have one more place to visit.(The Monitor walks off as the figure lowers its hood, revealing itself to be a Green Martian.)Figure: (in Martian) I 'm coming for you, J'onn J'onzz.Dialogue Disasters
Again, every time Ben Lockwood opens his mouth.Continuity
The episodes opens with Kara's escape from the Red Daughter in 421

Red Daughter returns to Lex and says she failed him by not killing Supergirl.

Lex says she didn't fail him and it was his fault for thinking that Kryptonite exposure alone could kill Supergirl.

He applauds Red Daughter for making Supergirl bleed and gives her a photo of Eliza Danvers, telling her to attack Supergirl where she is most vulnerable - the heart.

Lex is confirmed to be using the alien prisoners to charge his new power suit.

President Baker's first name is revealed as Phil. He was a state senator before becoming Vice President.

Lex reveals that he was responsible for Phil Baker's rise to power, having taken out President Marsdin's original running mate and then pulling strings to put Phil Baker on the ticket. He then arranged for President Marsdin to be outed as an alien, putting Baker in the White House.

As in 416, the montage of the Kaznian invasion and Red Daughter fighting Supergirl is set to Frank Sinatra's "My Way."

The battle between Red Daughter and Supergirl was seen in 421.
Lex uses his new suit to fight the Kaznian military, single-handed.

Lex seemingly kills the Red Daughter on National TV.

It is revealed that Lex didn't really kill the Red Daughter but weakened her and has loaded her into one of the energy-draining pods at Amertek's refinery.

President Baker calls a second press confrerence, declaring that Otis Graves was found dead with a manifesto detailing his philosophy and taking credit for the crimes that were pinned on Lex Luthor. As such, he gives Luthor a full Presidential Pardon and appoints him as the new Secretary of Alien Affairs.

Ben Lockwood learns about this watching TV while hiding at his steel mill. He survives an assassination attempt by a squad of Eve Teschmacher clones and asks the one who doesn't disappiate after he knocks them out at super speed why Luthor had been using him.

It is revealed that Shelley Island has been turned into a slave labor camp, with those aliens who can't output energy for Luthor's refinery being put to work assembling electronics for Amertek.

J'onn winds up working next to Al - the alien who runs the alien dive bar - and the two begin to plan a rebellion.

Brainiac-5 escaped to L-Corp and regrouped with Lena.

The two watch a news report where it is revealed that Lex donated an experimental power source to replace the destroyed power grid on the eastern side of the United States.

Brainiac-5 is able to recover Kara's evidence of Luthor's wrong-doing that was stored on the CatCo servers.

Brainac-5 tells Lena, Kara and Alex about how Luthor was not only using alien prisoners from the DEO desert facility in his experiments but alien civilians abducted by Ben Lockwood and the Children of Liberty.

Lena gets an invitation from The President to meet him at the White House. The invitation turns out to be from Lex, who has taken over the Oval Office and also arranged for Lillian Luthor to be freed.

Lex reveals his master-plan, now that the Luthor name is cleared, is to build his fortune on his new power source - supercharged disposable batteries, powered by alien energy.

Lena asks what makes Lex think Superman is going to sit idly by on Argo and let him do this. Lex says that the first batch of aliens are being used to charge a revised Claymore satellite that will allow him to destroy Argo from a distance.

Eve Teschmacher objects to Lex's plan to kill Superman, which she was not consulted on. Lex says that killing Superman once and for all was always the point and he doesn't care if half the energy they've gathered will be burned up destroying Argo.

The device Lillian Luthor built to extract the Harun-El from a human system is completed.

Dreamer eventually notifies the team that the alien captives are being held on Shelley Island, after realizing she's invisible and inaudible to people in her astral form. She is able to write out a message after Brainiac-5 breathes on a cold window.

Brainiac-5 determined that Lex is using Shelley Island to charge the new Claymore satellite and that it is aimed at Argo. He says that he will try to hack the power core while Kara, Jimmy and Alex try to save Dreamer and J'onn.

Ben Lockwood shows up with a group of Children of Liberty he says that he gave the Harun-El treatment to and start fighting Supergirl, Alex and Jimmy.

Upon finding they can't disable the power core for Claymore, J'onn tries to overload it with his psychic powers.

Lena and Lillian escape the White House by struggling with Eve Teschmacher for a gun and pistol whipping her with it and macing two Secret Service agents, respectively.

Lex files to Shelley Island and begins blasting everything with his new Lexo Suit.

Lex reveals that his suit has the ability to generate Kryptonite radiation.

Thankfully, Kara came prepared and puts on the armored costume Lena made for her.

Dreamer pools her dream energy with J'onn's psychic powers but it is not enough.

Seeing two people do something so illogical causes Brainiac-5's previous personality to reassert itself and start saying words of encouragement to Dreamer and J'onn.

Brainiac-5 finally tells Dreamer that he loves her.

James is able to inject Ben Lockwood with the Harun-El removal device.

Red Daughter is freed by J'onn and Dreamer. She flies to Supergirl just in time to take a lethal Kryptonite laser bolt for her.

The Red Daughter dissipates into a cloud of purple energy which Kara seems to absorb. This gives her the power she needs to overpower Lex's Kryptonite beams and blast his gauntlet with her heat vision, which glows purple.

Lex refuses to let Supergirl save him from falling to his death as his armor starts to fall apart. He seemingly falls to his death but actually teleports to a secret base under his childhood treehouse... where Lena is waiting to inject him with the Harun-El extractor.

Lena shoots Lex. He applauds her for finally proving how ruthless she is but asks who is left to be proud of her.

Lex reveals that Kara is Supergirl and that all of Lena's friends and Lillian knew and lied to her about it before he dies.

As far as the world is concerned, Lex Luthor died blown up on Shelley island.

The Cabinet invoked the 25th Amendment to remove President Baker from office and he was arrested.

Ben Lockwood was arrested on a new battery of terrorism charges.

James lost his right eye in the fight with Ben Lockwood.

The new President Plastino ends martial law and reinstates the Alien Amnesty Act pending a new vote in Congress.

Col. Haley holds a press conference to apologize to Supergirl

Alex kisses Kelley Olsen for the first time..

Lena shows up for game night but is clearly uncomfortable.

Kara wants to tell Lena the truth about her secret identity but Alex wants to let her just have one night to enjoy with her friends. Kara agrees.

George Lockwood is seen talking to a crowd and preaching against his father's message of hate on the news.

Eve Teschmacher is confronted by an old woman at a bus station in National City, who tells her that "Leviathan is everywhere, Leviathan is everyone and Leviathan is coming."

The Monitor brings someone to Earth through a breach - a Martian who must avenge himself upon the brother who wronged him. This brother is identified as J'onn J'onzz.

The Monitor says he has one more place to visit.

Lena cracks the glass in the picture of herself, Alex and Kara together in her office while using it is a coaster for her drink.

The episode ends with The Monitor manifesting in Lex's secret lab and regarding Lex's corpse, as his hand starts to open another breach.Location
Washington D.C. - 24 hours earlier.
Amertek Energy Refiner - 6 hours earlier.
The White House - 1 hour earlier.
Midvale - Today.
Amertek Energy Refiner - Today.
Lockwood Steel Factory - Today.
Shelley Island - Today
The White House - Today.
Luthor Manor - Today.The Bottom Line
Much like Season 4 of Supergirl, it's a bit of a mess overall, but the parts that work work very well. There's just not a lot of middle ground. The inclusion of the Children of Liberty and Ben Lockwood just feels pointless and seems to be there just to give James something to do... much like James suddenly having lost an eye. A lot of things are resolved too quickly to register (such as Brainiac-5's personality being restored) and it seems like most of the cast is just treading water until the Lex vs. Supergirl fight.

That being said, the special effects work is great and the fight between Lex and Supergirl is everything we hoped it might be. It looks like we'll have multiple villains again next season, which is worrying on multiple levels, even ignoring what might happen with Lena an whatever the Monitor is up to. Either way, Season 5 of Supergirl won't be boring!

Plot
The battle between Team Arrow and the Ninth Circle comes to a head, as old friends return to Star City to help with the coming fight. Meanwhile, over two decades later, the next generation of Star City's heroes must save their city - and the world - from a corporation intent on empowering a new police state.Influences
The Green Arrow comics of Benjamin Percy (battle with Ninth Circle) and Judd Winick (destroying a wall that separates the rich and poor parts of Star City.)Goofs
The Ninth Circle leadership expels Emiko from their ranks and kills her because of her vendetta against the Queen family exposing the group to the public. Yet they are perfectly willing to keep that vendetta going once Emiko is dead, because... reasons?

For that matter, even if the Ninth Circle were going after Oliver and Felicity for being thorns in their side, why not go after the whole of Team Arrow? All of whom have public identities now!

Performances
Emily Bett Rickards gives it her all one last time and steals the show in both the modern day and future segments. Somehow, Stephen Amell seems all the stronger playing against her and he's hardly a slouch. Their final moments together are Emmy-worthy.

Artistry

The fight scenes are fantastic, even for this show.

The episode's ending is absolutely perfect - both as a send-off for Felicity Smoak and as the series in general, as it seems that all of Season 8 will be devoted to Crisis on Infinite Earths.

Trivia
The female Ninth Circle member who seemingly takes over after Emiko is kicked out of the group is identified as Beatrice. In The Divine Comedy, Beatrice was the name of the poet Dante's ideal woman, who acted as his guide to the nine spheres of Heaven, just as Virgil had been his guide to the circles of Hell.

While the original Green Arrow comics introducing the Ninth Circle didn't include a member named Beatrice among the Ninth Circle's ranks, the name fits their convention of their leaders taking the names of important figures from The Divine Comedy.Technobabble
Emiko somehow finds a way to block Felicity from tracking the Cygnus X-1 bacteria by its chemical signature.

Someone using a signal-bounced untraceable number calls in a fake bomb scare to a local shopping mall, to force people out into the open where they can be attacked by a Ninth Circle drone.

The Ninth Circle use a scrambler to make it impossible to track the detonation signal for their Cygnus X-1 bombs.

Curtis builds a number of optimized cryogenic chambers to that can be used to freeze the Cygnus X-1 bacteria.

Felicity determines all the Cygnus X-1 bombs and droves are hooked up to the same detonator. This means they only have to neutralize one target rather than over a dozen.

Smoak Tech invented a line of flexible restraints, easier to store than traditional handcuffs.

The Archer program is revealed not to have a server room - its server is built into the wall that separates The Glades and Star City.

Felicity built a backdoor into the original Archer system so that anyone who had both her DNA and that of Oliver Queen would be invisible to the system. This is why Mia was able to fight the Zeta soldiers so effectively - Archer could literally not predict her next move, like all the other vigilantes.

When the wall between The Glades and Star City was built, explosives were planted in each control tower in case it ever had to be destroyed. The signal can only be activated from inside the tower.Dialogue TriumphsWilliam: What are they gonna do with us?Rene: You mean before they torture us to find out what you stole off Keven Dale's computer or after?William: I'm gonna stop asking questions now.

Felicity: (sadly) This is not the life that Oliver and I wanted for them. They're supposed to be living happy, normal lives right now. That was the only thing that Oliver asked me to do. It was the only thing that I promised him I would do. And I failed. Some mother I turned out to be.

Oliver: You have every right to be angry. I was angry, too, because you let our father die. And that led to a ripple effect in my life of loss. I lost Tommy, my mother, Laurel, Quentin. And I wanted to kill you for all of it!

(The two struggle as Emiko tries to stab Oliver. He flips her and takes away her knife, holding it on her.)

Oliver: I know his death affected you, too.

(Oliver releases the pin and stands up, allowing Emiko to stand.)

Oliver: Instead of finding the hero that I really believe is inside
of you, you went down a dark path. And it killed your mother.

Emiko: Dante killed my mother!

Oliver: No, he didn't, Emiko. Your allegiance to the Ninth Circle killed your mother. Your hatred of our father killed your mother. His worst impulses drove you away, and it led to every
terrible moment in both of our lives. I think that together, we can be better.

(Oliver holds the knife out to Emiko.)

Oliver: So if you're gonna kill me, do it.

(Emiko hesitates, as Virgil enters the room with a squad of Ninth Circle soldiers)

Virgil: Well, if you're not gonna kill him, we'll gladly oblige.

Oliver: I've spent a long time thinking about my legacy as the Green
Arrow. I always hoped it would be saving the city. But now I know that my greatest legacy is this team. I started this mission alone. I was certain that I would end it alone, but the truth of
the matter is that every bit of success that I've had along the way is because
of all of you.

Diggle: You know, the spirit of this place will live on long after
we're gone. You've inspired so many people, Oliver. They will carry on your legacy.

Oliver: Sounds like a cycle for good.

Diggle: Far better than that. A cycle of heroes. Who will fight to defend this city with
every fiber of their being.

Felicity: Anyone ever told you you always know exactly what to say?

Digg: (stone-faced) I
have been told.

(Oliver and Felicity laugh ad Diggle cracks a stoic smile.)

Oliver: So what bargain have I made? What does the multiverse
require?

The Monitor: That you assist me as we seek to prevent the inevitable.

Oliver: But that sounds impossible.

The Monitor: The multiverse is more complex than you could fathom.

Oliver: What are you not telling me?

The Monitor: I've seen your future, Oliver,
inexorable and unavoidable. I have watched you die.

(Oliver just stares at The Monitor.)

Oliver: During this crisis?

The Monitor: (nods) I am truly sorry.

Felicity:No. You are not taking him!

Oliver: Felicity....

Felicity: Oliver...

The Monitor: I am not here to bring harm to you or your daughter. Trust me, the world needs her.

Felicity: You think that I'm just going to let you leave here with my
husband's life?

Oliver: This is bigger than us... Than all of us.

Felicity: Why does it always have to be you?

The Monitor: I cannot prevent his
passing, but he can prevent the deaths of countless more, including you and
your daughter. But he needs to come with me tonight.

Felicity: (softly)This is why we can't have a normal life. This is why our children will never have normal lives.

Oliver: I had to make the deal.

Felicity: (holding back the tears) Oh, there's always gonna be some danger or some threat. The
league of Assassins or HIVE or the Ninth Circle or the end of the friggin'
universe.

Oliver: I need you to make me a promise.

Felicity: (drying her tears) Yeah, okay.

Oliver: No matter what happens to me... No matter what... You need to do
everything in your power... You...You need to keep William and Mia safe.

Felicity: (standing, moving to feel Oliver's face) I will keep them safe. But wherever you go? Whatever happens to you? You'll never
leave me. On our wedding day, you told me that I was the best part of
you, but the truth is... we are the best parts of each other. And that is so much bigger than the friggin' universe.

Oliver: When I came back to Star City to start my mission, I didn't
think that I was... capable or deserving of love.(sobbing) But you opened up my heart in ways that I never thought
were possible. My only regret is not telling you I loved you sooner.

Felicity: (hugging him tighter) No regrets.

Oliver: Would you tell Mia that I love her every day? And I know
that she will grow up to be as smart and as beautiful as her mom.

Felicity: I will find you... again. I promise.

Oliver: I love you.

Felicity: I love you so much.

(The two kiss passionately and hug each other for several seconds. Reluctantly, Oliver lets go of Felicity as she feels his face one more time before he lets go and walks back to the living room.)

(Felicity walks through the woods near Queen Manor. She stops and The Monitor approaches her.)

Felicity: I'm ready.

The Monitor: Where I'm taking you, there is no return.

Felicity: I have waited a very long time to see him. I'm ready.

(Felicity twists her wedding ring as The Monitor opens a breach. The two step forward into it as it seals behind them, with no indication they were ever there.)

Continuity

Sergeant Bingsley passes out and is in the back of am ambulance. As such, he can't confirm that Team Arrow didn't attack the police.

Team Arrow escapes from the SCPD thanks to Oliver's timely use of a smoke arrow.

The whole of Team Arrow have arrest warrants put out for their real names.

Curtis Holt and Black Siren return to help fight The Ninth Circle.

Ben "Bronze Tiger" Turner, last seen in 715, is revealed to have been paroled. He helps calm the crowds during the drone attacks.

Ben Turner agrees to help stop the Ninth Circle.

Lyla picks up John Jr., Zoe and Connor and takes them to an ARGUS safehouse.

Felicity tracks the signal to trigger the Cygnus X-1 release to the top floor of Palmer Technologies - what was Robert Queen's office when the building was still owned by Queen Consolidated.

Virgil tells Emiko that the rest of The Ninth Circle's leadership is concerned that her vendetta is bringing too much heat down upon them. He asks her to detonate the bombs now but she refuses.

Sergeant Bingsley tells Mayor Pollard that Team Arrow is innocent. He and several other cops join the team to swarm Palmer Industries.

Oliver offers Emiko another chance for them to work beyond their father's life and be better people together. When she refuses to take it, he offers her a dagger and tells her to kill him.

Before Emiko can make a decision, Virgial arrives with a group of Ninth Circle soldiers and a woman named Beatrice, who informs Emiko she has been cast out of the Ninth Circle.

Beatrice throws the knives that fatally wound Emiko.

With her dying breath, Emiko warns Oliver that the Ninth Circle know that Felicity is pregnant an they will stop at nothing to kill him, her and their child.

Oliver escapes from Palmer Industries just before a fire bomb destroys the upper floors.

Black Siren returns to Earth 2.

Bronze Tiger is offered a place on Team Arrow by Diggle. He turns it down, saying that he wants to focus on being with his son now that he's free of prison. Diggle understands but says ARGUS may approach him about a job anyway.

Curtis announces his intention to propose to his longtime boyfriend, Officer Nick Anastas and go back to his new job in Washington D.C.

Roy says he's going to take some time to be alone and figure out a way to atone for the two guards that he killed before he joins back up with Thea Queen and Nyssa Al Ghul.

Oliver says he and Felicity are going to leave town for a while, leaving Diggle in charge of the team while they are away.

Before everyone parts ways, Oliver says he is going to design a Mark of Four based around The Four Pillars of Heroism he thought up ad that the six of them (Oliver, Felicity, Diggle, Rene, Dinah and Roy) will be able to use it as a signal if they ever need help. This symbol was first mentioned and seen in the flash-forwards of 708when Dinah revealed she had a tattoo of the symbol to William Clayton.

Diggle helps Felicity and Oliver find a home in a rural community called Bloomfield, which is a sort of retirement community for ex CIA, ARGUS and DIA personnel who need to go into witness protection. The entire city is basically one gigantic safe-house.

Several moinths pass during which Oliver and Felicity enjoy their time together, Mia is born and Oliver and Felicity both enjoy being the parents of a young baby.

The Monitor appears in Oliver and Felicity's living room and confirms the time has come for Oliver to fufill the bargain he made in S409.

Oliver explains that he agreed to give the Monitor "whatever the Multiverse requires" to save it during the coming Crisis, in exchange for the means to save Barry and Kara during the battle with Dr. Destiny. The Monitor reveals that this means that Oliver must come with him and help him to "prevent the inevitable."

The Monitor reveals that he has seen Oliver die and that there is nothing that can be done to avert his fate. He does say, however, that it is possible to make Oliver's death mean something and that he can use it to save the uncountable lives, including those of his wife and daughter.

The Monitor also says that it is important that Mia Smoak's life be saved, but does not explain why.

Oliver is allowed a chance to hold Mia one last time and to kiss Felicity before he leaves with the Monitor.

Mia is somehow able to fight several of the Zeta droids before they focus on her and overpower her.

The rest of the Zetas are finished up by a disguised Connor Hawke.

William and Rene are saved from Galaxy One by Zoe.

Felicity reveals that Mia is able to fight the Zetas because a backdoor in Archer stops her DNA from being analyzed and her movements predicted.

This prompts William to come up with a plan to destroy Archer by using the delay caused by Mia's presence at a gate scanner to upload a virus into the system.

The virus doesn't destroy Archer but triggers a system-wide reboot which shuts it down for four minutes.

Mia volunteers to activate the self-destruct on the wall during that four minute window.

William is able to code a 60 second delay into the self-destruct so Mia can escape in time.

Rene, Dinah, Roy and Felicity agree to take the rap for the destruction of the wall.

Dinah officially makes Zoe the new head of The Canaries.

Roy thank William for getting him off of Lian Yu.

Roy says how he got on Lian Yu in the first place and a long story when William asks him how he got there.

Felicity meets with Mia and William in the woods behind what was Queen Manor at Robert Queen's gravestone.

It is revealed that there are two new gravestones there. One for Emiko Queen, who is buried on Robert's right. The other is on Robert's left and is for Oliver Queen.

Oliver Queen's tombstone identifies him as The Green Arrow and says he died in 2019.

Felicity says that this is the last time she'll see Mia and William, as she is going on a journey of her own - one that she can take now that she is satisfied that Mia and William can take care of themselves.

The episode ends with Felicity meeting with The Monitor, who asks if she is prepared because she cannot return from where they are going. Felicity replies that she has been waiting a very long time to see him as she twists her wedding ring. The implication is that The Monitor is taking her to see Oliver, but with no indication of where or when.The Bottom Line
The first two-thirds is a bit of a rushed mess, which has no purpose but to finish up Emiko's storyline and everything involving the Zeta soldiers. The final third, however, contains some of the best moments in Arrow history and a fantastic farewell to the character of Felicity Smoak. For once, the episode is more than the sum of its part and the perfect finale more than makes up for the weak start. It will be interesting to see how the show goes on in Season 8 without Emily Bett Rickards but it will be an interesting train-wreck if nothing else.

Plot
With the Time Bureau now under Gary Green's control, Ava and Sara enact a bold plan to take it back. When the rest of the team winds up at the mercy of Tabitha, Zari and Charlie join forces to figure out what Neron is up to in Ray Palmer's body. And John Constantine faces a difficult choice, as he is given a chance to escape from Hell but can't take everyone he wants to save with him.InfluencesThe Collector by John Fowles (lead character a parallel of Gary), the Hellblazer comics of Jamie Delano (the idea of a stock market for souls), Alan Moore's Swamp Thing (the general vision of Hell), Neil Gaiman's The Sandman (the idea of Hell being run by a triumvirate), Secret Origins (vol. 2) #48 (Depicted Hell as being ruled by a triumvirate consisting of Lucifer, Belial and Azazel), King Kong (Mona's transformation spooking the crowd mirrors King Kong going berserk while on display) and the Hellblazer comics of Garth Ennis (the demon Calibraxis,the idea of John Constantine having the three most powerful demons in Hell fighting over his soul)Goofs

For a strip club in Hell, the dancers in the Flesh Factory are modestly dressed and seem more like contortionists than exotic dancers. (Then again, a strip club where the dancers don't strip or dance provocatively seems wholly appropriate as a place to torment the lustful in Hell.)Performances

It is hard to single anyone out given how the whole ensemble is utilized. Still, we'll give the MVP award to Adam Tsekhman who somehow manages to make Gary somewhat sympathetic even as he's indulging in some truly petty acts of evil... which makes the reveal that he's intentionally trying to do a bad job of playing the bad guy all the funnier. Even his making Sara and Ava dance for him - something which SHOULD be creepy as Hell (pun intended) - manages to be more comedic than terrifying, as if this truly were the worst thing he could think to do as a bad guy.Artistry
The set design for Hell is fantastic, as are the camera tricks used to make the whole experience of traversing it and speaking with demons unsettling and unnerving.Trivia Of Tomorrow
The novel Gary chooses for his book club to read is shown to be The Collector by Neil LaChance. The description of the book, however, seems to match that of The Collector by John Fowles - a novel about a socially awkward butterfly collector who abducts a young woman in the hopes that she will fall in love with him. It seems likely the author of the book was changed due to the characters in the episode who read it saying the book is "not very good."

The Hell of the DC Comics universe is diverse and ever changing. Some aspects of it mirror the traditional view, with pits of fire and many torture chambers. Hell also contains urban areas which mirror places in the real world. The modern vision of Hell in the DC Universe was conceived by Alan Moore and introduced during his run on Swamp Thing.It is said in Neil Gaiman's Sandman that the only people who go to Hell are those who honestly believe they deserve to go there, but this does not seem to be wholly accurate as innocents can be held captive in Hell against their will.

The Arrowverse version of Hell is an urban dystopia where it always night, what light that exists is green and sickly, save for the red fire pits in the distance.

At one point John is menaced by a biker demon with a beard, who he once sent to Hell, named Calibraxis. In Garth Ennis' run on Hellblazer, Calibraxis.was the name of a demon who claimed to be responsible for possessing a man and committing the murders later attributed to Jack The Ripper. John was responsible for exorcising Calibraxis from an unnamed member of the British Royal family.

John asks a demon named Masher how Neron's name is trading. The idea of Hell having a stock-market was introduced during the Hellblazer run of Jamie Delano, with mortals being able to bank on better bargains for selling their soul depending on the state of the market. It was also possible for demons to trade souls to one another in exchange for various favors and demons being able to encourage investment in their name as part of various schemes to acquire a mass of souls in exchange for a small initial investment by other demons. This is because souls are also used by demons to power their magic as well as a form of currency and status.

John demands to be taken before a body known as The Triumvirate. In the DC Comics and Vertigo universes, Hell has been depicted as being ruled by a series of triumvirates. The first triumvirate was revealed in Neil Gaiman's The Sandman and consisted of the fallen angel Lucifer, the demon Azazel, and Beelzebub, Lord of Flies.

A separate triumvirate was revealed in Garth Ennis' run on Hellblazer. This was later retconned as being the first triumvirate of Hell. It consisted of three demonic beings known as the First of the Fallen, the Second of the Fallen and the Third of the Fallen. When Lucifer fell from Heaven, he took over the rulership of Hell from them and served as sole ruler until a civil war in Hell, as seen in the pages of Alan Moore's Swamp Thing.

For a time following this civl war, Hell was ruled by a Second Triumvirate, which consisted of The Demon Etrigan, Rann Va Dath of the Pit and Abaddon the Destroyer. They acted as an interim government until the establishment of The Third Triumvirate. ruled by Lucifer, Azazel and Beelzebub. After Lucifer abandoned the throne of Hell in the The Sandman: Seasons of Mist, the original First Triumvirate took over the rulership of Hell, even as the day-to-day operations were overseen by the angels Duma and Remiel. This changed leading into the Lucifer monthly comic by Mike Carey, after John Constantine was able to depower the First of the Fallen, who gave up ruling Hell to focus on gaining revenge on John.

To further confuse matters, a Stanley And His Monster story in Secret Origins (vol. 2) #48 (April 1990) revealed another Triumvirate, consisting of Lucifer, Belial and Azazel. It is believed that Belial was used in place of Beelzebub due to a research error.

The Hell of the Arrowverse is revealed to be ruled by three demons - Satan (First of the Fallen), Belial and Beelzebub.All three appear as old men in business suits

The First of the Fallen is considered to be the arch-enemy of John Constantine in the Hellblazer series. It is unclear if the Arrowverse version and John enjoy a totally similar relationship.

In the Hell of the Vertigo universe, Satan is a title rather than an individual demon or fallen angel, the name coming from the Hebrew word for "adversary." While originally bestowed upon the ruler of Hell, the title of Satan now seems to be bestowed upon whichever member of the Triumvirate acts as the official military leader of Hell's armies. Lucifer answered to the title of Satan in several Vertigo comics before he renounced his throne.

The flashback scenes of John losing Astra to a demon as well as the scenes as John is sent to his room in Hell are taken from the original Constantine show, intercut with new footage of the new actress playing Astra as a young girl.

It is revealed that Astra has become a demon in the service of Hell. In the DC Comics cosmology, it is possible for a mortal to become a demon. Typically this happens when an extremely evil human is promoted, having impressed some elder demon into giving a fraction of its power to a particularly inventive mortal sinner. Presumably a mortal who had acquired multiple souls could also gain power through playing the demonic stock market or some other form of gambling.Technobabble/Arcana
According to Charlie, Ogres are big softies who wouldn't hurt a fly.

Article 27 of the Time Bureau Creed says that no supervisor will show favoritism towards a fellow employee - a statue Gary says Ava violated by starting a book club that he wasn't invited to be a part of.

Hell is ruled by a triumvirate of demons, made up of Satan (First of the Fallen), Belial and Beelzebub.

The beings known as Fairy Godmothers were all witches who were cursed to only be able to use their magic to do the bidding of others.

A free witch can takeover the curse of a Fairy Godmother by taking her wand.

It is possible for a human to become a demon after having been warped by Hell and embracing their corruption.Dialogue Triumphs(The Legends watch Neron's ad for PalmerX 2019)

Nate: I don't care if Neron's wearing my best friend's face. I want to punch him.

Mick: Get in line.

(We see a montage of the various Legends wielding various weapons. The line ends with Zari, distastefully holding a bandoleer of grenades.)Zari: This seems like overkill.

(Sara tells the rest of the team to execute Plan B over the comms.)Zari: What's Plan B?Mick: I only listen for my name.Nate: I assume it's like Plan A, but, you know, with less people.

Demon: You're dead, demon hunter!John: I was going to be a demon proctologist, but the pay wasn't
as good.

John: I invoke a parlay. I demand to speak to the Triumvirate!

Calibraxis: I'm a demon, not a pirate, John. I thought you understood the rules.

John: Well, you little maggot, as long as I'm alive, then the
Triumvirate can pass me around like a little sparrow amongst the cats. But as soon as I die, you dim-witted dick, then my soul
belongs to Neron, and then the Triumvirate lose out on all the tasty little
bits of torture that they've got planned for me. So you've got two choices: You can either kill me and
royally piss off the old bags that run this place, or take me to speak with the
Triumvirate.

Ava: You know what, Gary? It's a little hard to feel sorry for
you when you're holding us all hostage.

Gary: You're not getting it. This whole time Tabitha has been trying to use me to hurt
you.

(sadly) All I wished was for us to hang out! I was trying to protect you. (shrugs) I get it. I'm not cool.

But I don't deserve to be treated like a joke. (voice becoming more sinister) So, now... now the joke's on you.

Charlie: If I die, I'm going to come back and haunt you!

Zari: I would love a ghost friend.

(Charlie, disguised as a Time Bureau Agent, escorts a cuffed Zari into the Bureau.)Zari: Stick to the plan, Charlie.

Charlie: You mean the plan where I need to rely on my shoddy
shape-shifting to portal creatures one by one out of their cells and on to the
Waverider, where Gary may or may not wish them to Kingdom Com?

Zari: Yep. That plan.

Sara: Gary, when Rip first recruited the Legends, he picked the
people that were insignificant to history - the original losers. You don't have to be cool to be a Legend. And maybe we forgot that somewhere along the way, but...you
are one of us.

(Charlie stops and laughs with Neron.)Neron: Uh, still no luck with Nora?

Charlie: (sadly) No.

Neron: Oh. Well, she'll take your curse soon. After all, you are very convincing.

(Neron leans in for a kiss, but Charlie leans backwards to avoid it.)

Charlie: Well, I better head back. Evil deeds to do and all that.

(As Charlie hurries off Neron exhales into his hand and smells his breath, shuddering a bit.)

Neron: Hmm. No.

Nora: (as she is sucked into the portal to Hell) Gary, you dick!

Continuity

A young Zari is revealed to still be living just outside Washington DC in the year 2019, as in 401. Her mother is currently pregnant with her younger brother, Behrad.

Neron, as Ray Palmer, informs people of the existence of monsters through televised ads promoting a technology conference called PalmerX 2019, where he promises to unveil a solution to the monster problem.

Nora Darhk is still inside Time Bureau HQ, fighting her way through the brainwashed Time Agents while hiding in the ducts.

Gary has used Tabitha's powers to redecorate his office and give himself three nipples.

According to Tabitha, John Constantine has banished thousands of demons back to Hell in his life.

Neron tells Mona of his intent to give her a special role in his plan.

Gary complains that the Legends never invited him to their pizza parties or their Dungeons and Dragons games.

Gary wishes to be part of Ava, Nora and Sara's book club, magically teleporting them into his office.

The book Gary selects for his book club is The Collector by Neil LaChance.

Gary wishes for the rest of the book club to be forced to read the book super quickly so they can discuss it.

Without Sara and Ava, the rest of the Legends decide to infiltrate PalmerX 2019 and figure out Neron's plan.

John finds out that half the demons in Hell have found out he's been sent to Hell and are looking for him.

Gary wishes to be Captain of the Waverider. Tabitha sends him, Ava and Sara to the ship.

Tabitha allows Nora to remain with her, saying she has no quarrel with Nora as she wasn't part of the group of people who sent her to Hell.

Tabitha was in Hell for 327 years.

Tabitha says that Neron rescued her in Hell and won her heart.

Tabitha says that Neron is much older than her.

Tabitha says that she thinks she and Nora might have been friends in another life.

Tabitha sends Nora to PalmerX 2019 in a fancy gown to act as "Ray's" armcandy.

Neron threatens to kill Mona if Nora turns on him.

Neron tells Nora that her father is going stark raving mad in the deepest pits of Hell.

Neron says that he's keeping Nora around as his "girlfriend" because he figured the best revenge possible for her trying to kill him was to give her a front-row seat to everything he's about to do while wearing the body of the man she loves.

Neron, posing as Ray, claims to have spent the last two years hunting magical creatures around the world and developing an exoskeleton that will let him fight them. He also unveils an app he calls Eyes, which will allow people to report monster sightings to him in real time.

John goes to a demonic strip club called the Flesh Factory in search of a soul broker called Masher.

Masher says that Neron's stock is about to rise, due to a highly anticipated acquirement of a massive soul collection on Earth. This suggests that Neron is about to make a power play for the throne of Hell.

Masher was sent back to Hell by John, but is far more forgiving about it than most demons.

John is confronted by a demon named Calibraxis, whom he convinces to take him before the Triumvirate that rules Hell.

Neron angers Mona, forcing Wolfie to come out before a crowd, revealing the world's first real werewolf.

Mick and Nate are teleported back to the Waverider to be part of Gary's new crew of Legends.

Zari uses her wind bracelet to save herself from the mob, leading to Neron calling her a witch.

Gary starts wearing Nate's old costume, which he calls the Kid Steel suit.

Only 2000 people signup for the Eyes App after PalmerX 2019. It is flushed out of the news cycle by Kanye West releasing a surprise album and a video of a cat getting a bath.

Neron plans to arrange a monster attack on the Capitol.

Tabitha places Nora in the same sell as a wounded Mona.

Tabitha tells Nora that she thinks they can help each other - something she wants to do as a fellow witch.

Zari takes Charlie to her childhood home to hideout.

According to Zari, ARGUS institutes a fascist government in the United States in 2021 to better control metahumans.

Zari discovers that the Terms of Service for the Eyes app contain a clause that give Neron the soul of anyone who downloads and uses the app.

After the Legends annoy him by condescending to him, Gary wishes for Mick to be turned into a big baby, Nate to be forced to relive Gary's high-school years (with braces, acne and a frizzy mullet) and for Sara and Ava to be forced to dance for his amusement.

Zari accidentally leaves the backpack containing the dragon egg in her childhood home when she and Charlie leave. It is found by her younger self.
John bargains with the Triumvirate that rules Hell, promising them that he will stop Neron's plans to take over Hell in exchange for their letting him leave Hell with Ray's soul.

The Triumvirate forces John to make a choice between Ray and Astra - the girl he accidentally condemned to Hell. John chooses Astra.

Gary is a fan of the game Settlers of Cattan.

Tabitha tells Nora that she'd be able to heal the dying Mona with her powers and that all she has to do is take Tabitha's wand.

This is revealed to be a trick, freeing Tabitha of her curse and trapping Nora as Gary's fairy godmother.

Zari and Charlie enter into the Time Bureau, with Zari posing as a prisoner and Charlie as a time agent.

Charlie's cover is blown when the witchy Tabitha finds Neron just a few minutes after Neron saw Charlie disguised as fairy godmother Tabitha.

Zari opens all the cells in the Time Bureau as Charlie sets a Time Corridor portal into the Waverider at the end of the detention level's main hallway.

Gary wishes for his fairy godmother to rescue John and Ray from Hell, not knowing that Nora is now his fairy godmother.

Charlie is able to free all of the magical creatures and rescue Mona, though she's left trapped in Mona's cell.

Neron wants to kill Charlie but Tabitha says they can use Charlie's powers to create whatever magical monsters they want for his attack on the Capitol.

John discovers that Astra's time in Hell has turned her into a demon. She refuses to go back to Earth, breaking John's deal with the Triumvirate, who decided it is more fun to torture John and that they can deal with Neron themselves.

When we last see John, he is trapped in a cell, with Calibraxis advancing on him with a curved blade. We hear the sound of flesh being cut and a scream after things go to black.

It is revealed that the dragon egg is hatching in a young Zari's bedroom.Location
Zari Tomaz's Childhood Home - Outside Washington DC - 2019
Hell
Time Bureau HQ - Washington DC - 2019
PalmerX 2019 - Washington DC - 2019Untelevised Adventures
Gary leads his team of Legends in stopping a fairy from disrupting an episode of The Great British Bake Off.The Bottom LineA decent but not great episode which sets the stage for the season finale well enough. It seems like the whole cast is stretched too thin, but there are about a dozen players to keep track of. Still, there's a lot of solid ideas here and the show moves between them quickly enough that it doesn't seem overwhelming.

Saturday, May 18, 2019

In which we have a shorter episode than normal; because I honestly thought the closing battle of Episode 2 was much longer than it turned out to be. Still, this episode is all action, all excitement and features the unexpected return of a character from the first game. Well, unexpected unless you peeked ahead at the title card for Episode 3.

Monday, May 13, 2019

Plot
Supergirl finally comes face to face with the Red Daughter. As the two Kryptonians battle for supremacy, J'onn, Dreamer and Braniac-5 start searching for the alien test-subjects abducted by Lex Luthor. Meanwhile, Alex begins to realize that her memory has been tampered with as Lena Luthor turns to an unexpected source for help in figuring in how to extract the Harun-El from a human subject.InfluencesRed Dawn (the title and the plot involving a Russian invasion of the United States), Superman: The Movie (the Kryptonite ball and chain used to subdue Kara), Star Wars (Dreamer's reference to "The Wookie Gambit", her asking Brainy to tell her the odds) and Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (Kara draining the solar energy from a forest to heal herself.)Goofs
Kara says that she's been dealing with Kryptonite for 15 years. When was she ever exposed to Kryptonite before she became Supergirl four years ago?

So none of the guards see J'onn hovering over the alien prison?

Was Eliza Danvers informed about Alex's erased memory? It seems like she would have to have been to prevent any confusion at family gatherings.Performances
Jesse Rath has a great turn here as he transforms into the more traditional Brainiac-5.Artistry
The fight between Supergirl and Red Daughter may be the finest in the show's history.Super Trivia
The title of the episode comes from a 1984 film about a Russian invasion of the United States.

The title card of the episode shows the Red Daughter symbol before changing to the usual House of El symbol.

The sequence in which Supergirl drains the solar energy from the plants in a forest to heal herself is inspired by a scene in Batman: The Dark Knight Returns where Superman does the same thing after being severely injured by a nuclear bomb.Technobabble
Brainiac-5 says that there is a a 56.3% chance that any plan that involves pretending to be captured will result in their actually being captured.

Alex uses the DEO satellites to scan for Supergirl's unique solar radiation signature so they can track Red Daughter.

Colonel Haley says that the energy beam for the Claymore satellite was powered by an unknown energy source.
Brainiac-5 later determines that the captive aliens are having their power drained and converted into kinetic energy for use in the Claymore particle beam.

J'onn saw aliens being herded into a transmatter portal (like the one the DEO has) suggesting their power is being drained at another site.Dialogue TriumphsLena: Lex is planning on invading America.Brainiac-5: What?!Alex: You should have led with that.Lena: Well, then you're going to love this. Lex has a clone of Supergirl.Alex: What?!Brainiac-5: You should have led with that!

(Kara watches Red Daughter looking queasy at the close proximity of the Kryptonite.)Kara: You know, for saying that you want to know your enemy, you don't know me at all. For instance, that pain you're feeling? You've only felt it for the past couple of months. But me? I've been dealing with Kryptonite for 15 years.(Kara slips loose of the chain and uses it as a flail against the Red Daughter, running for the hotel room window and jumping through it, flying away once she's far enough away from the Kryptonite.)(Lena opens a container. Out crawls an octopus like creature, which latches onto Lillian's arm and wraps around it.)Lena: It's a baby Truth-Seeker. And I need the truth.Lillian: You mean, I can't lie?Lena: Nope.(There is a long pause as Lena regards Lillian.)Lena: My middle school boyfriend, Taylor.Lillian: (reflexively) I paid him $14,000 to never speak to you again.(Lillian looks astonished at having been forced to confess that.)Lena: I knew it.

(On The "Wookie Gambit")J'onn: Why does everyone always think getting captured is the best plan?

Brainiac-5: You know 56.3% isn't that bad. By our standards.

Brainiac-5: (panicked) What I'm trying to tell you is that my species has ancestral memory. And my ancestors? Very bad people. (pained) They were collectors! Conquerors! I remember everything!(Brainiac-5 looks around, eyes wide in terror as the terror gives way to manically glee.)Brainiac-5: Uh-oh!(Brainiac-5 laughs manically and passes out. A moment later he looks up, totally dispassionate as he speaks.)Brainiac-5: In short, your rebooted me. Aligned me with my more... emotionless ancestors. And that was a calamitous mistake.(In an instant, Brainiac-5 is free of his bonds and unleashing a perfectly executed series of martial-arts maneuvers on the guards.) Supergirl: Hope, help and compassion for all. That's what I stand for.Red Daughter: You will not be able to stand at all when I am done with you!Continuity
Alex has a dream about herself and Kara as teenagers. She was trying to teach Kara how to clap her hands to the beat of a song and the clapping created a shockwave that started an Earthquake.

Alex tells Kelly that she has a weird feeling about the dream and she had the same feeling when she was being questioned at the DEO several months earlier. She thinks it has something to do with Kara, for some reason.

Alex gets a call from Brainiac-5, asking her to come into the DEO right away.

The Secret Service informs Kara that they scrubbed the CatCo servers of her evidence of the Kaznian invasion plot.

Kara is able to fight the two Secret Service agents even while tied up without using her powers. She is stopped from escaping by the Red Daughter, who is wearing a dark-haired wig and carrying a box with a Kryptonite necklace.

Brainiac-5 informs Alex of the events of the last episode and how Ben Lockwood is now on a super-powered rampage.

Ben Lockwood took the entire stock of Harun-El serum in Lena's lab at the DEO and trashed the labs to boot.

Lena says that Ben Lockwood must be connected to Lex somehow.

Alex says that she can hunt down the Red Daughter.

Brainiac-5 says he will get J'onn and Dreamer and tackle tracking down the missing alien criminals Lex abducted.

Lena says that she is going to confront Ben Lockwood and try to find out where Lex is hiding, but first she needs to borrow one thing from the DEO. Alex says she can have it.

The Red Daughter is tasked with killing Kara after she is taken captive in the White House.

Kara is able to escape because she's far more used to fighting through Krytponite poisoning than the Red Daughter..

Kara goes to J'onn to get the bullet shrapnel removed from her arm.

Kara says that all of her evidence about the Kaznian invasion and Lex has been destroyed.

Kara says she has to tell Alex the truth about her being Supergirl.

J'onn says that she can't tell Alex the truth because the techniques he used to wall off her memories are fragile and she could go insane if the news is just dropped on her.

J'onn says maybe if Alex remembered on her own her memories might be restored, but he's not certain of that.

Lena Luthor bought the for-profit prison Lillian Luthor was incarcerated in and makes arrangements for her to be sent to her lab for a weekend.

The one thing Lena borrowed from the DEO is revealed to be the Truth Seeker from 410.

Under the influence of the Truth Seeker, Lillian Luthor admits to paying Lena's middle school boyfriend Taylor $14,000 to dump her and never speak to her again.

Lena put a slow-acting neurotoxin in Lillian's lunch, giving her 24 hours to solve the problem of removing Harun-El from a human body in order to earn the antidote.

Lillian Luthor also says that she loves Lena, much to Lena's surprise.

Lena determines that Ben Lockwood really had no idea that his rise to power was facilitated by Lex Luthor.

Lena says she also thinks the unrefined Harun-El cure is causing physical deterioration in Ben Lockwood as he seemed to have a clump of hair fall out when he was talking to her.

Lena and James go following after Ben Lockwood.

J'onn's determines that three aliens were taken from the latest DEO raid site.

J'onn finds a unicorn keychain on the crime scene.

Dreamer has a vision of a young alien girl riding a unicorn being chased by wolves.

Brainiac-5 determines that Faol is an archaic Irish word meaning wolf and that Faolan Shipping is a subsidiary of a subsidiary of Lex Luthor's favorite shell company, Amertek.

The Wookie Gambit is a maneuver where the heroes infiltrate a prison by pretending to be guards escorting a single prisoner. It is name for how Chewbacca infiltrated the Death Star brig while pretending to be a prisoner, as Han Solo and Luke Skywalker posed as Storm Troopers.

Brainiac-5 decides to try the Wookie Gambit anyway when Dreamer sees the girl from her vision.

Brainiac-5 uses his image inducer to pose as Ben Lockwood. It works until the alien-sniffing dogs react to his presence.

Kara says that absorbing sunlight into her body feels warm and she feels the sensation in her toes first.

Colonel Haley is informed of the Red Daughter's existence and that President Baker is working for Lex Luthor. She agrees to help Alex and Supergirl.

J'onn sneaks into the prison disguised as Eve Teschmacher.

While undergoing electric-shock torture in the alien prison, Brainiac-5's mind is "rebooted" and his ancestral memories take over. This replaces his usual personality with a more cool, logical and amoral one that has no qualms about killing.

Colonel Haley mentions Project Claymore from 413 and says she tried to track down the six engineers behind it. She found all of them had died within the past two weeks and the locations of their deaths match six of the spots Red Daughter visited.

Coloney Haley concludes that Lex is trying to get his hands on the specs for a new Claymore style weapon.

The DEO computer tracks a likely base of operations for the Red Daughter to 1114 Cedar Street in National City.

1114 Cedar Street is an apartment which Red Daughter has roughly started to decorate to look like Kara's apartment. It is also within visual range of Kara's apartment, suggesting that Red Daughter has been watching Kara and slowly starting to emulate her.

Ben Lockwood injects himself with another unrefined sample of Harun-El before meeting Otis Graves.

Otis confesses to Ben Lockwood that he was working for Lex Luthor when he started helping get the Children of Liberty started.

Ben Lockwood goes berserk when he learns that all of this planning was based around making money and world domination.

Lena figures out that Lex's plan is to betray the Kaznians and become the hero he sees himself as in the public eye by stopping their invasion.

James has a violent reaction to the Kryptonite in Otis Graves' chest.

Ben Lockwood rips out the Kryptonite heart of Otis Graves, seemingly killing him once and for all.

Brainiac-5 finds Dreamer but informs her that he is not freeing her, as they'll be able to find the location of the where the aliens are being drained much easier if she is sent there and then she sends him an astral projection telling him where to find her.

Brainiac-5 also knocks out J'onn with a series of nerve punches, leaving him to be captured so as to increase the odds of one of them being able to contact him.

Kara finds a journal of the Red Daughter's, which has sketches of her and Alex in it, along with a code cipher and a photo of a young boy as a bookmark. (Mikhail from 416)

Alex comes to Red Daughter's apartment and starts to have a breakdown as she realizes it looks like Kara's apartment and overlooks Kara's apartment.

Eliza Danvers calls Alex to tell her Kara just got there. Kara realizes that Red Daughter has disguised herself as her and is going after her adoptive mother.

The Red Daughter has developed powers Kara does not have - chiefly the ability to generate purple electrical energy around her hands which is capable of shocking even Supergirl.

Watching Supergirl fight Red Daughter brings back a flood of memories of Kara using her superpowers to Alex. These include using her frost breath to make it snow indoors at Christmas, roasting marshmallows with her heat-vision when they were teens, Kara catching them both after they fell off a cliff whens he accidentally started an earthquake by clapping too hard and assorted clips from the past four seasons.

Alex remembers that Kara is Supergirl.

Red Daughter flies off after she hears Kara's heart stop beating. She appears distressed, however, when she sees Alex's reaction and realizes she actually killed Supergirl.

Kara is able to heal herself by drawing on the solar energy in the plant around her.

Lillian Luthor determines that a second dose of Harun-El should stabilize James' condition.

J'onn and Dreamer are sent through the portal to wherever the alien captives are being sent to.

Colonel Haley determines that the Claymore satellite was a prototype for a weapons system that could be contained within one mechanized suit.

As the episode ends, President Baker is holding a press conference to announce that the Kaznian invasion of America was led by Supergirl but that it was thwarted by one man - Lex Luthor - who killed Supergirl.Location
Midvale - 2007
Washington D.C.
Midvale - 2019

The Bottom Line
Far better than it has any right to be, given some of the hokier elements of the story. Poetic as it may have been with Frank Miller's narration, Superman absorbing solar energy from plants never quite worked in my mind and it doesn't work any better in live action. Still, what does work here works well, such as Melissa Benoist's dual performance and Chyler Leigh recovering her memories as Alex.

In retrospect, it seems that the writers weren't sure how far to go with Ben Lockwood and one week after turning him into an irredeemable monster, suddenly he's going over the edge to declare war on Lex Luthor. I think the show might have been better had he been killed early on and Manchester Black were still around trying to thwart Luthor's scheme with targeted ultra violence. Ah, what might have been eh?

Sunday, May 12, 2019

Plot
With Cicada plotting to unleash a biological weapon that will kill every metahuman in Central City, Team Flash goes on high alert. As Joe and Cecile organize an effort to distribute the metahuman cure that Caitlin is mass-producing, Barry, Iris, Ralph, Cisco and Nora focus their efforts on trying to catch Cicada. As Sherloque tries to see to the safety of the latest love of his life, Ralph wonders... why did The Reverse Flash have such an interest in stopping Cicada in the past?InfluencesThe Flash comics of Geoff Johns and Doctor Who (Ralph makes a reference to "timey wimey crap.")Goofs
Cisco is awfully indifferent to the question of where the mirror gun sends the material it zaps. That seems like a mighty important thing to determine since their hope was that the gun would disintegrate matter - not teleport it.

Why is everyone so down on Ralph wanting to figure out what Thawne's interest in stopping Cicada is? Especially Barry, who should be more paranoid than anyone about Thawne's angle! Granting that Ralph is a bit of a goofball, he's also the one who figured out a way to track Cicada before anyone else.

Barry chews Nora out for trying to see through Cicada II's eyes, saying that Cicada II could have done the same thing and pinpointed their location. It seems a safe bet that Cicada II already knows where to find them, given that the first time they fought Cicada II was when she came to STAR Labs to save her Uncle Orlin! (What makes this even more nonsensical is that Nora says she made sure there was nothing in her eye-line that said STAR Labs!)

This also begs the question of why Cicada II hadn't just come back to STAR Labs and finished them off, given that they can't fight back against her with the dagger neutralizing their powers.

Barry and Iris continue to be the worst and Nora finally gives them the "I am a grown-ass woman and can make my own decisions." speech that has been coming all season.

Performances
Tom Cavanagh's chemistry with Kimberly Williams-Paisley is such that you almost forget that the romance between Sherloque and Renee has taken place almost entirely off-camera and that she only appeared in one episode before now, nearly half a season ago!Flash Facts
Sherloque claims that the average smartphone owner checks their phone 110 times per day on average. This is a fair average between various studies, which chart the average as being somewhere between 50-150 depending on the average age of the survey takers.Technobabble

The cryo-atomizer.was originally developed by Tannhauser to combat large fires
caused by droughts. It did this by dispersing cold air particles into the
atmosphere, triggering focused, heavy rainfall.

With the cold particles replaced with the metahuman cure prototype, Cicada II could infect all of Central City, painfully killing every metahuman in the city.

The second piece of equipment Cicada II steals is a Quantum Tunnel Converter - the first prototype of its kind. The converter can transform dark matter energy to practical
energy, allowing her to use her dagger to supercharge the atomizer - possibly boosting it to cover the whole of the USA rather than just Central City.

To connect the Quantum Tunnel Converter and the Cryo-Atomizer, Cicada II will also need a Hyper Conduit.

Sebastian Ollins is said Looks to be renting a warehouse he retrofitted it with fiber-joules technology to test out
his experiments.This includes a cutting edge Hyper Conduit.

Hacking the cryo-atomizer requires a quantum computer. Connecting three nodes to the control processor inside will override the system.

Dialogue Triumphs

Barry: Hey, you find anything?

Cisco: (testily) Confirmation that She-cada hasn't
stolen everything she needs.So we have some time.

Barry: Finally some good news.

Cisco: Except what she did steal was a Quantum Tunnel Converter. The first working prototype of its kind.

(Both Barry and Nora look stunned.)

Ralph: Yeah, that's the same face Cisco made when he heard.

Nora: Guys, listen. I saw Grace and I almost saw where she was. Right now she is putting her pieces together and when that
is done, thousands if not hundreds of thousands of people are going to die.

I can't stand around and do nothing.

Barry: Yes, you can because that's what we're telling you to do.

Nora: When I first got here, I would rush in to fix things and by
doing that, I always ended up making them worse. But I am not that person anymore because of you. You showed me how to use my powers. You taught me how to make the right choices. And right now, I am choosing to face this risk.

Iris: Nora, this is a terrible idea.

Nora: I know you feel that way. But I don't. I'm an adult capable of making my own decisions. I've made up my mind about this. So I am asking you, please, as my parents, stop trying to
keep me away from this danger and start helping me face it.

Continuity

Eobard Thawne was incarcerated for 15 years before his death sentence was to be carried out.

The method of execution to be used on Thawne will somehow channel Thawne's own power to end his life.

Team Flash determines that Cicada II must need something else for her plan besides the cryo-atomizer - otherwise she already would have released the faulty metahuman cure.

The team elects to distribute the fully-functioning metahuman cure to as many people as possible, in case they can't stop Cicada II. That will save some people since, once cured, the anti-metahuman treatment shouldn't affect them.

It is agreed that the cure should be distributed at CCPD HQ.

Cisco tests the mirror gun on the STAR Labs satellite core, since it has a comparable level of dark matter to the gun and Cicada's dagger. It seems to either vaporize the core or send it somewhere else.

Captain Singh agrees to Joe and Cecile's plan to hand out the metahuman cure at CCPD HQ and places Joe in charge of the department and managing the distribution, while he goes to City Hall to argue in favor of the plan.

Sherloque approaches Renee Adler and tells her he knows that she's a metahuman, having seen her open a door without touching it in 513.

Cicada II arrives at Central City University while Sherloque is there.

Nora says that her lightning turning red was a side-effect of Cicada II's rage channeling through her - not a sign that the Negative Speed Force is taking her over again. She says she can use that connection to find Cicada II, but Barry and Iris think it is too dangerous to risk.

Joe reopens the Cicada tip line and sets up police barricades 3 blocks around CCPD HQ.

Cicada has a psychic impression of panic and warns Joe that they are going to get slammed with panicking metahumans.

Ralph asks what interest Thawne has in stopping Cicada, but Barry dismisses this as unimportant.

Nora says the best place to find a Hyper Conduit in 2049 would be Ollins Laboratory.

According to Nora, Sebastian Ollins was a brilliant scientist in her time, who won a Nobel Prize for Quantum Engineering.

Sebastian Ollins was Cisco's college roommate.

Cisco claims Ollins couldn't stay awake through a single physics lecture and would have failed out of college had it not been for Cisco tutoring him.

Cicada II is able to steal the Hyper-Conduit before The Flash gets there and blows up the Ollins' warehouse.

Ralph points out there's a massive paradox involving Cicada II killing Cicada I and taking his dagger, because it doesn't explain where his dagger was in her future and how it could be used to kill future metahumans if Cicada II has it now. Again, Barry says this isn't as urgent a concern as finding Cicada II in the here and now.

Nora tries to use the Cerebral Inhibitor to block Cicada II's ability to read her mind while still being able to see through her eyes using their psychic connection.

Sherloque takes Renee Adler to CCPD HQ to get her powers removed.

Joe tells Cecile he's uncomfortable taking command in this situation, despite taking charge in the field countless times before.

Renee Adler decides that she wants to keep her powers.

Sherloque opens a portal to his Earth where friends of his can keep Renee safe while he helps Team Flash to stop Cicada II on Earth I.

Renee makes reference to the events of 515and how the idea of multiple Earths isn't that strange compared to shark men and gorilla fighting.

Barry plans to use the Speedster-Proof Forcefield that Cisco built in Season One to contain Nora while she taps into her connection with Cicada II.

Joe stops a riot from breaking out at CCPD HQ, as the metahumans begin to panic.

Nora tracks Cicada II to the CCPD HQ.

Team Flash realizes that Cicada II is planning to use all the metahumans at CCPD HQ as a battery to super-charge the atomizer.

Barry asks Cisco to send the atomizer to Earth 15 - a dead Earth first mentioned in 410.

With the dagger plugged into the atomizer, Cisco has to disable the device rather than shooting it with the mirror gun or trying to vibe it away.

Cicada II confirms that she never had the power-negating dagger of her uncle before she came back in time to 2019.

Again, Ralph wonders what happened to the power-negating dagger if Cicada II didn't have it in her time.

Ralph realizes that the dagger must be what is being used to negate Thawne's powers while he is imprisoned and that destroying the Cicada dagger now will free him in the future.

The episode ends with Ralph shouting at Barry not to fire the mirror gun at the dagger, as Barry pulls the trigger.Location
Iron Heights Prison - 2049Untelevised Adventures
Most of Sherloque and Renee's romance has taken place almost entirely off camera.The Fridge Factor
Renee Adler's entire purpose in this episode is keeping Sherloque occupied as he has to save her (and nobody else) from Cicada II. This wouldn't be that bad if she had shown up more than once before this season.The Boomerang Factor
Honestly, the only thing saving Team Flash at this point is the fact that Cicada II didn't see fit to break into their base yet again and kill them all.

The Bottom Line
A badly-written, poorly-reasoned mess that wastes the show's best actors. The end of the season can't come fast enough, just so we can be guaranteed of never seeing Cicada ever again.